Four is the Magic Number
by Fukyuu no Tenshi
Summary: [Write to us, because we'll miss you.] One thing remains the same, no matter what happens. They'll always have eachother. [Starring Sakura, Tenten, Ino and Hinata]
1. Chapter I: Separation is the Begining

**Four is the Magic Number**

_**Fukyuu** **no** **tenshi**_

**Standard Disclaimer Applies, as always.**

**(A/N: I hope you enjoy this story, it's the first one I've ever written where the story is divided into four. I am writing this one for pure fun, so if you don't like it, too bad. Also note, because I am someone who can only write during times of inspiration, updates might be slow and sometimes I might update back-to-back.)**

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"Here, I brought some coke." Tenten grinned as she set the bottles on the table.

"I cannot believe this, I thought you guys were my friends, but now… now, you're abandoning me!" Tenten rolled her eyes at Ino's overly- dramatic display.

"We're not abandoning you Ino; we're just not taking you with us." Replied Sakura jokingly as she took her own bottle and screwed the cap off. Ino ignored the pink-haired girl and continued to moan, much to Tenten's annoyance. Having enough, Tenten chucked a pillow at Ino and settled down on the bed.

"Hey!" Came a slightly muffled response.

Hinata gently took the pillow from the blonde and squeezed it. "I-Ino, it's not l-like w-we don't want you to c-come, but we can't take you w-with us…" Hinata was the shyest and most polite of the four-member group, always looking at things from a calm light and settling problems without violence.

Sakura patted the blue-haired girl on the back.

"Don't worry about it Hinata, it's not your fault Ino has nowhere to go this summer, but she'll have fun working at the shop. Won't you Ino-pig?" Ino moaned once more and grabbed the pillow back.

"This is so unfair! You guys all get to go your own separate ways, enjoying your own adventures filled with romance and fun while I stay here and rot all summer."

"Fun and romance? Hinata is going to visit her grandparents, okay? I'm going to a camp and Sakura is visiting her aunt. There is no romance in our 'adventures' Ino." Tenten took another sip of her drink calmly, trying to hide her irritation, Ino was such a drama queen…

"But there aren't even any cute guys here!" Sakura burst out laughing.

That was typical Ino behavior. Ino was a boy-chaser, she loved to go after boys who seemed to have no interest in her at all and make them fall head-over-heels for her; there was no man on earth who could resist her charms once she tried. But then, as soon as they confessed their love to her, she dumped them. And while this may seem like horrible behavior, her three best friends knew she had a reason for it and said nothing to her about what they would have normally considered bad. Ino was a blonde with blue eyes, a tall, slim and had a model-like figure.

Sakura, the pink-haired green-eyed one, was the brainiac. Sakura loved to study and read, but never excelled in sports or anything else. She did like drawing and art, but never thought she was anything special with the pen and pencil. Sakura and Ino were the ones who had the longest history, knowing each other from their first day in preschool, but Sakura was usually the one in Ino's shadow. Sakura didn't chase after boys like Ino did, and occasionally developed a crush or two, however she never approached her crushes, because she was too afraid of being turned down. Sakura was average in height and didn't believe she herself had anything more than average in the looks department, she actually thought of herself as quite…plain.

"S-Sakura, watch out!" Turning her head slightly, Sakura was hit face-on with a pillow.

"Gotcha!"

Hinata was a rich girl who had only convinced her father to send her to public school by swearing that her friends would take care of her. She was the absolute shyest in the group, stuttering when she talked and never meeting anyone's gaze. Hinata was someone who didn't like people she didn't know very well because they made her feel uncomfortable. She was also smart, but not as smart as Sakura. Hinata's favorite subject was History, as she liked to read about the past. She was somewhat short, but petite. She was beautiful, but whenever boys asked her our paid attention to her, she wouldn't know how to act, and then they would move onto her younger, more confident sister, Hanabi.

Tenten was the last one of the group, she would probably be categorized as the 'sporty' one, because indeed she did love sports more than anything else in the world, and would do anything to reach her goal of becoming a professional soccer player. Well, almost anything, Tenten would never, ever hurt her friends even if it meant she would be the most famous soccer player in the whole world. Tenten also hated boys and couldn't understand why Ino kept chasing after them, after all, boys were just as important as socks to her, and wasting even a minute on something like that was pointless. Tenten was the tallest and had brown hair kept in two buns.

Sakura, still stunned by the attack grabbed the pillow and was about to throw it at Ino when she suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, forehead-girl?" Ino taunted her friend loudly, hoping it would help her cheer up. Though she could be brash sometimes, Ino cared deeply for her friends, and knew Sakura well enough to know that whenever she looked down at meaningless object without averting her gaze; it meant she was in deep thought.

"Guys…"

Tenten and Hinata turned to look at their friend.

"I think," Sakura paused, suddenly aware that her eyes were somewhat blurred. She smiled to herself before speaking again.

"No, we should do something this summer."

Tenten and Ino had similar confused looks on their faces.

"I think S-Sakura t-thinks we s-should do something different this s-summer." Hinata supplied, hoping to clear up their confusion.

"What did you have in mind?" Ino asked, suddenly serious.

"This." Sakura held out a book all the girls were familiar with, it was their book.

'Their book' was the scrapbook Ino's mom had once gotten for them all when they were seven, and they had kept it with them throughout all their friendship. Now there was only one page left for them to write down their memories.

"I think we should all write down something that we have to do this summer, just so we'll still be connected, even though we're so far apart. After all, this is our last summer together before we're off for college." All the girls were silently aware that it was true, that even if their laughed now, in two months, they would be starting their own separate lives, without each other.

"Okay, I'll go first." Ino took the book and silently pondered what to do with it. Should she write something mushy? Naw, that wasn't like her, she was the fun in this group. Finally, making up her mind, Ino grinned mischievously. "We should all get boyfriends this summer. And I have something else, if one of us doesn't follow these rules, when we get back, the girl who failed to comply with these guidelines will have to do whatever the other girls want her to do."

"Like a dare?" Sakura questioned hesitantly. Ino only nodded.

Tenten, Sakura and even Hinata were a little scared by the idea. When it came to dares, Ino was the ultimate, she could name the dare of your worst fears and make you do it.

"Okay. I'll go next." Tenten was handed the book. "I think we should only write in letters this summer, you know, so it seems more… personal." The other girls nodded in understanding.

"M-Me t-too… I think w-we should, w-when we c-come back, t-tell each other everything that happened t-too them."

One rule to go.

"Well, I think this may be kind of obvious, but we should write it down anyways. Rule number four will be that we will never forget we have each other this summer, because even if we are going our own ways, we're still best friends."

"Okay, everyone agree? Then sign your name at the bottom."

In the end, the girls fell asleep next to each other, wondering what tomorrow would hold.

**The Contract**

**1. We shall all get boyfriends this summer.**

**2. We will only communicate by letters.**

**3. We will tell each other everything when we get back.**

**4. We will never, ever, forget we have each other.**

_**Signed: Ino, Tenten, Hinata and Sakura**_

**(A/N: It's a tad mushy, but it'll get better. You don't know the pairings now, even if they kind of obvious, but you'll know them soon, probably by the third update.)**


	2. Chapter II: The Start of a Journey

**Four is the Magic Number**

**Standard Disclaimer ****applies**** (if only I owned Naruto… Sasuke would get his ass kicked so many times over…)**

**(A/N: Chapter two, yay!**** Enjoy this chapter too; you should get some hint of the pairings now. Please review and tell me what you think!)**

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Chapter II - The Start of the Journey

"We'll miss you."

"Write to us!"

"Have fun Hinata!"

Hinata waved sadly to her friends as she boarded the plane. She was now officially separated from them, and couldn't see them until the end of her summer. Even though she was supposed to be enjoying herself – it was her vacation after all – Hinata dreaded visiting her grandparents. It wasn't that they hated her, but it was just… they did hate her. Every time she'd ever seen them, they would always be frowning at her, as if she were some disgusting piece of trash.

It didn't anger her, but it hurt her. Hinata was after all, a very forgiving and kind girl, and never hated anyone, but even if she was the nicest to her grandparents as she could be, they seemed to… to resent her.

Hinata sighed and reclined her seat, she smiled bitterly. _First class_, she was always first class. She was a rich heiress, and people seemed to hate her for being alive. For having money, because people assumed – just assumed, even if they didn't have proof – that she was lazy. That she was just going to inherit a hug sum of money and waste it.

_'There's no use thinking about it…'_

The blue-haired girl tried to relax as she thought of her upcoming visit.

* * *

Stepping off the plane, Hinata grabbed her bag - even though they had people to do that for them, Hinata didn't like to let people do things she could do with no effort – and walked to the limo that was supposed to pick them up. She carefully put the bag in the trunk and waited as her sister sat down next to her. 

"You know where to go." Hanabi waved lazily as she started to read one of her magazines while Hinata stared out the window quietly.

_'Maybe…they'll like me.'_

It was wishful thinking, but Hinata had hope. She always had hope.

The limo finally stopped in front of a set of gates, as it opened it revealed a very large mansion. It was completely made out of marble, everything, every room, was somewhat white.

The limo driver then took the girls' bags – even though Hinata protested – and walked them to the front door. It was opened by a girl of about fifteen years of age, dressed in maid's apparel. She then took the bags and smiled at them. Hinata smiled back and Hanabi didn't seem to notice.

"Welcome to Hyuuga Mansion." She welcomed them in a warm voice. Hinata smiled happily.

"Thank y-you."

She nodded and led them to a room in the west wing.

"Mrs. and Mr. Hyuuga have been waiting for you."

She pulled on the door's handle and opened it for them, taking their bags with her as she left.

As both girls then stepped into the room, they were welcomed by two voices.

"Welcome Hanabi! Hello Hinata…" Hinata smiled sadly again, she could almost hear the sneer in that voice.

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This was just great! Absolutely great. Tenten had already boarded her flight and Sakura had left as well, and now, what was she doing? Helping an 80 year old woman pick out flowers for her husband's funeral. And guess what? She was colorblind and damn near deaf. "Maybe you should choose these…" Ino suggested helpfully to the old woman.

"No… he didn't like that kind of flower." He didn't like them? He was dead! Dead! So why did he care, Ino groaned in her head. This was so boring and incredibly annoying. Her mother just did not pay her enough money for the effort she put into this job.

"Those flowers would go nicely with his… erm, coffin." Ino pointed to another set of flowers. The old lady looked at them for a while.

"Do you think so?"

"Yes! I mean, of course. They are very lovely flowers, so how many will you take again?" The old lady shook her head.

"Maybe some other ones…" Ugh! God dammmit, this was so incredibly….

And hour and a half hour later the old woman left. Finally. It was just too much, the thought of her doing this day after day…

Sighing Ino called into the back room.

"MOM! I WANT TO TAKE MY BREAK NOW!"

"WHAAAATTT?" God, her mother was such a looser…

"I. WANT. TO. TAKE. MY. BREAK!"

"OKAY! BE BACK IN TWENTY MINUTES!"

"FINE!"

Rubbing her temples, Ino marched out the door.

When she was this upset, there was only one place she could go.

Walking away from the city, she headed into the woods.

It was calming in the woods, especially since she knew where she was going. In 3 minutes time, she had reached a clearing. It was covered in flowers and there were butterflies everywhere. Sighing in relief she sat down under a tree and closed her eyes.

Silence, beautiful silen –

Was that a rustle? It sounded like someone was shifting in the grass…_ oh no._

Ino groaned silently. Someone was here; this would totally ruin her plans.

Grumbling she walked over to the source of the noise. It was… a boy.

Ino stifled a giggle. He had such… funny hair; it was almost cute, in a way.

"Hello." Ino plopped down next to him, completely forgetting her irritation. He seemed surprised that a girl would randomly sit next to him, but then again, most people would be. Then he turned his head away from her and mumbled something under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"This is troublesome."

"Excuse me?"

"Girls are so troublesome."

Oh he was so going to get it now. He didn't exactly insult her, but he wasn't being polite either, especially since she was being so friendly, even though he was in _her_ spot.

"Girls are not troublesome; you're probably just too lazy to deal with them." Ino shot back. He turned his head to look at her again, and even though Ino didn't want to admit it… he was kind of… cute.

_'Pfft. He was such an attitude, besides, I've seen better.'_

"Don't bother me; it's too annoying to deal with girls."

Ino bit her lip to keep herself from screaming at him.

"_Pardon__ me_, but this is my spot, so you shouldn't have anything to complain about. What are you doing here anyhow?" He seemed to mutter something else something before replying.

"I'm cloud watching." He waved his hand lazily in the air.

Ino snorted.

"Oh really."

"Yes, unlike some of us, I like to think."

Ooooh! He was so going to get it.

"Yeah, well some of us aren't lazy bastards who don't do anything all day."

"Troublesome."

"Why do you keep saying that? Is that your catchphrase or something?" Ino rolled her eyes and flipped the hair off her shoulder.

"I can't believe I'm wasting my break like this…" He didn't seem to listen and turned his head away again.

Ino looked up at the sky, what was so interesting about cloud watching anyways? It didn't even matter; she laid down next to him and stared at the sky. If he could do it, so could she. "Ooh! That looks like a bear." Ino raised a finger and pointed to a white shape in the sky. He shook his head.

"It looks more like a seal."

"No way, it looks like a bear, which cloud are you looking at anyway?" He pointed to another white shape in the sky.

"No that one looks like a flower." Ino giggled a little at the silliness of their game.

"What's your name?"

"Shikamaru."

Ino smiled and reached a hand over to shake his jokingly. "I'm Ino; it's nice to meet you."

He nodded.

"So do you do this often? Just look up at the clouds?" He nodded.

"I also like shogi." Ino tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"I've seen people play that, I mean, I've never played it myself, but you should teach me if we ever do meet again." Ino looked down at her watch. "Oh shit. I've gotta go. My mother's going to be so mad…" She got up and patted the dirt off her butt.

"Come visit me sometime, okay? I work at Yamanaka's flower shop. I'll be there all summer." She waved again.

_'He was okay… I guess.'_

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"These are the rooms you'll stay in all summer!" The counselor yelled at them from halfway across the field.

"Cabin 1…" Her voice trailed off in Tenten's mind as she looked around the field. It was incredible; the whole camp was incredible actually. The sides were covered by trees and flowers and there seemed to be mountain behind them. Looking back the other people around her, Tenten counted them silently. Forty children and about four counselors. For such a large area, there hardly seemed to be any people here.

"Cabin 6: Hana K., Tenten…" Tenten's head snapped forward at her name. Cabin 6 huh? Some Hana girl was in with her as well. When the counselor finally called off the last names everyone dismissed so they could get their bags and head off to their cabins. A cheery looking girl walked up to her.

"You're Tenten right? I'm Roze. I'm going to be sharing a cabin with you." Tenten nodded her head in understanding.

"It's good to meet you." Tenten smiled at the girl and looked forward at her cabin. Roze continued to point out other people; apparently many of the people in the camp now had been here before, like Roze.

"That's Hana; she'll also be sharing a cabin with us. Hana is nice, even though she can be a little quiet." Roze pointed to another girl and then another. To be honest, Tenten didn't really care, but she didn't want to come off as rude, especially since Roze was being so kind to her.

"Oh and that's Lee." Roze giggled a little and Tenten could understand why. Lee, as he was called, was wearing green spandex. His whole body was covered in green spandex actually. "He's Gai's favorite student, Gai isn't here right now, but you'll see him tomorrow." Tenten fiddled with her backpack strap nervously, Roze sounded… mischievous.

"Oh…and that's…" Roze giggled again and pointed to a boy, "That is Neji Hyuuga!" Tenten's roommate squealed in excitement.

Tenten turned her head to look at Neji, and when she did their eyes met. They shared a brief moment of eye contact before she looked away and tried to hide her blush. He was a boy! She wasn't supposed to like them; they were just as important as socks…

Roze smiled. "Here we are, finally, this is our cabin! To be honest these cabins aren't the greatest, but they do feel homey after you get used to them." Tenten nodded numbly, still confused about her own feelings.

Roze opened the creaky wooden door and both of them stepped inside.

It was a normal cabin, with bunk beds on each side.

There were clean, white sheets on the beds and a small desk at the end of the cabin.

"Well here we are, home sweet home!" Roze giggled again.

_'Home sweet home, huh.'_

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"Mother, I'll be alright."

"Okay, I know you're a big girl now, but you need to be careful, okay? This is a big city, and you could get lost or kidnapped, or oh gosh… just stay with your aunt Sakura, she'll watch out for you. Do not open the door for strangers and…"

"Mother! I'm not twelve. I'm seventeen, I'll be okay." Sakura rolled her eyes at her mother's behavior. She knew this was going to be a bad idea, right from the start. It was her first time away from her home without her parents and she wasn't even there yet but somehow her mother was completely flipping out. Plus, she desperately missed Hinata, Tenten and Ino. They would be able to cheer her up from anything and make this trip worthwhile.

"Mom, I'll be okay. I know the rules." Sakura stared out the window as the large, grey buildings passed by.

_'For a city, this place is so incredibly dull…'_

Sakura's aunt was a big time reporter, and she was also currently working for a magazine. Her parents had finally decided to let Sakura visit for the summer, if only not to bother them.

"Okay, here it is. I'm going to talk to your aunt and you can unload your luggage, okay?" Sakura nodded.

"I know… I know…"

Five hours later, her mother had finally left, and her aunt was supposed to be off for work at a meeting.

"Sakura, do you want to come with me? I don't think you'd like staying here very much, after all, my cable isn't working right now."

"Okay. Where are you going?"

"I'll be visiting our company building right now. You should come around and see it. It's not really that special, but it might be fun."

"I guess so."

Sakura hesitantly followed her aunt into the car and sat silently while it moved forward.

_'Company building, huh? This could be kind of cool… At least I'll get to brag to Ino about it. __I might even meet some famous __celebrates while I'm here.__ If I do, I should get some autographs…__'_

Her aunt's car slowed to a stop and parked into a reserved spot. "Here we are!" Her aunt cheerfully guided her out of the garage and into the building.

To say it was huge was an understatement.

It was_… enormous_.

This was where her aunt worked, it was incredible. Her aunt told her there were exactly fourteen floors and a roof, all of them just as big as the first one. The whole place was packed with people, busily typing away at their computers, not even noticing the world around them as they continued to work on their own separate projects. Sakura inhaled and smiled again. This place was…

"Come on Sakura, we have to get up to the top floor."

Nodding automatically, Sakura followed her aunt into a glass elevator. Everything here seemed… official and untouchable.

The elevator _binged _as it reached it's destination on the top floor.

"Now Sakura you can't actually stay with me in the meeting room, but you're welcome into my office. Here's my secretary." Sakura's aunt nodded to a woman sitting in a wooden desk near the door. "This is my niece; she'll be staying here for a while to see how we all work. She won't bother anyone, now Sakura if you need anything, just ask her okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll be off then." Sakura waved goodbye to her aunt's retreating back. She had thought she would be able to do something, but apparently she was wrong. This was even worse than being alone at home, because now there were random people staring at her. Sitting down, Sakura quietly hummed to herself. She was going to be bored to death if she stayed here, especially since this building was just so incredible. There was so much to see, and she was stuck here.

"Umm… excuse me," the secretary shot her a stern look. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Fine, it's right across the hall; take the first left you see."

" 'Kay."

Sakura didn't really have to go, but she didn't want to be stuck in that white, pristine office for any longer. Taking the first left she saw, Sakura stared at the ground. God, she missed he –

_Oomph._

The force of the impact knocked her to the ground. The opposing person, it seemed, was still able to keep upright.

"I'm so sorry." Rubbing her butt, Sakura looked up to see…

Oh. My. God.

Life was officially over.

"S-Sasuke Uchiha…?"

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**(A/N: Letters will start in the next chapter.****Anyways, I need you help me with something.**

**One, I need a name for Sakura's aunt.**

**Two, I need a name for the secretary. **

**If you have any things you would like to say about the story, please comment.**


	3. Chapter III: The Trouble Stars To Brew

**Four is the Magic Number**

_**Fukyuu no tenshi**_

**If only the standard disclaimer didn't apply. Then who'd know what would happen….**

**(A/N: I'm sorry I uploaded this late. There are two reasons, one, school just started and I'm swamped. Two, I didn't have Microsoft Windows for a while and had to re-download it.)**

**I must apologize beforehand to the people who lent me names. It has been such a long time I don't remember which names I'm going to use for what characters, but I am still going to use all of them. Thank you guys for giving them to me, it'll be a really big help.**

**The good news is that I've finally organized everything and am ready to restart the project. I'm going to be trying my best to complete this story! **

**For people who didn't understand the pairings: The pairings will become very obvious in this chapter and I have no intention of changing them right now. **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter III**

It was _Sasuke Uchiha_! Super-rich and super-hot Sasuke, if she could get his autograph…

Sakura chuckled evilly in her own mind. Yes, poor Ino….

"U-um I-I'm so sorry." Darn it! She was stuttering. Sakura looked nervously to see Sasuke; he was extremely… calm, and emotionless. He didn't even seem to notice her very much, or if he did, he sure didn't let on about it. "Um, yeah, I wasn't watching where I was going." Sakura fidgeted with her hair and looked at her feet. He was so much cuter in person! Sakura blushed a deeper shade of red at her last mental comment.

"So, um, could I get, your, um, autograph?" Sakura tried to sound sincere, because she really did want it, and looked up at Sasuke's face again.

To her surprise he looked, sort of… mad?

"I don't have time for girls like you." With a scowl, he pushed Sakura aside and left.

Sakura was in a state of shock. What had she done wrong? After all, all she did was ask for his autograph. Then he called he said he didn't deal with girls like her.

Girls like her?

What was that supposed to mean?

Now Sakura was both angry and confused. Her idol was cute, but had a major attitude problem. _He was a jerk_.

Huffing, Sakura walked back into her aunt's large office and stared out the window angrily. All she could think about what that jerk had said, girls like her? That was so rude; did he think she was shallow? No way! She only said, like, ten words to him. At least she didn't giggle or anything. Sighing Sakura looked around the office – her aunt's secretary watched her warily – and took a magazine.

On the front cover were various celebrities, each with a different story behind them.

Flipping through the magazines, she reached one person who she did not ever want to see again.

_Sasuke Uchiha_.

God, she remembered him. In ninth grade Ino and she had a huge fight over who was going to marry that jerk. Of course, neither of then could – what are the chances? – But they still fought anyways. They would spend days together wondering what he was like, how incredible he was and so on, all that for a stupid actor/singer.

But now she could truthfully go back home and tell everyone in the whole goddamn world that Sasuke Uchiha was a jerk. A jerk!

That'll prove him for talking to her so rudely…

Sakura's aunt walked in just in time to see Sakura throw the magazine down onto an empty table aggressively.

"Sakura, dear? My meetings over, would you like me to show you around the building?"

Sakura mumbled something under her breath, and bit her lip angrily.

"Sakura? Sakura!" Sakura's aunt smiled cheerfully. "Come on, you shouldn't stay around here doing nothing. I'll show you around, okay?"

"Okay." Sakura continued to mumble under her breath, thinking about how rude Sasuke had been earlier.

'_I can't believe the first time I meet an idol, he's a complete and utter jerk. I guess I'm glad that I won't be seeing him around anymore.'_

But would she?

"Hey, um, are there lots of celebrities that come through here often?" Sakura asked her aunt, trying not to sound at all suspicious.

"No, none of them come here. For all interviews, we usually go out of the building, oh! But there is one."

"Who?" Please don't let it be that darned Uchiha…

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Drat.

"Why is he the only one?" Sakura's aunt smiled mysteriously.

"Why, do you want to meet him? I could set something up, if I asked."

"No! I mean, no, I don't really know Sasuke Uchiha." Even though she had about four posters of him, ten books on him and all of his CDs and movies. When Sakura got home, she promised to rip all of those posters off and give them to some little girl.

"Okay, are you sure?" Sakura's aunt winked mischievously.

"Yes, I'm sure I don't _ever_ want to meet him." Not again, anyways.

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_Dear Hinata,_

_How are you doing? Are your grandparents treating you okay? If they aren't I'll kick all of their asses for you! Seriously, if you need me too. Anyways, I'm here with my aunt. Her name is Momoka, but I'd feel weird calling her that, you know? You won't believe this (I've told Tenten about this too, but don't tell Ino, okay?) I met Sasuke Uchiha! _

_You know, that rich guy on all those magazine covers who's an actor and singer. Well, guess what… he's a jerk! I accidentally bumped into the guy and he actually insulted me (well, kind of) I mean, I said sorry and everything, and what did he do? Push me out of the way! God, he's just so…_

_Well, I guess you know what I was going to say next. I'm glad I told you, I miss you a lot Hinata._

_Have fun, and tell me about what's going on in your life, okay?_

_Love,_

_Sakura_

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Hinata sighed and folded Sakura's letter up as she put it on her nightstand. It was great to hear Sakura doing well - even though she was angry - from the sound of her letter, and she wished she could say the same. Her grandparents weren't being the most polite. For one, they didn't seem to like her as much as her sister Hanabi.

Hinata knew she wasn't overreacting either.

Hinata, for one, was not a petty, jealous type. She tried to think the best of people always and was a tad bit naïve. In this case, however, even the stupidest person alive could tell that Hanabi was more liked. When Hanabi asked to go to the mall, for example, they gave her one thousand dollars, when they asked her to go with Hanabi, they gave her seventy.

Seventy.

The tone of voice her grandparents used against her was somewhat grating on Hinata's nerves too. They would say something like "Could you get that?" and Hinata would feel like they just asked "Fetch that for me, you're only a dog, after all."

Sighing, Hinata grabbed her small purse and walked out of her room, she need some air. Calling for a maid to tell her grandparents that she was going out for a while, Hinata promptly left the Hyuuga mansion. Not like they would care, but Hinata felt the need to do it on formality anyway.

She didn't ask the driver for the car, but just walked towards the much more crowed streets down below.

Even though everyone was talking at once and she couldn't understand anything they were saying or even the fact that she was all alone, couldn't disturb Hinata's mood. The blue-haired girl felt content and _alive_ walking watching other happy people move on along with their lives. Children with their mothers, women with their friends and even young couples all seemed to be gathered on the streets at this time of night.

The talking created a pleased murmur around her and the colorful signs in front of the stores reminded Hinata of a festival.

'_I wonder how Tenten and Ino are doing, they haven't written me yet.'_

Hinata chuckled in private to herself. Ino would most definitely be griping to her mom or to herself about the unfairness of the world. Tenten was probably practicing and enjoying just being able to play the sport. That was something Hinata always had liked about Tenten. No matter how bad the situation, soccer seemed to be the solution, clearing the mind and heightening the senses.

Hinata walked by another food stand and smelled a whiff of what was coming from the inside.

Yum.

Seating herself on one of the stools in the small stand, Hinata looked over the menu overhead. To her surprise and amusement, it was a ramen shop. She had only had ramen a couple of times in her life, her father dubbing it unworthy and unhealthy.

"U-Um, I g-guess I'll have a beef r-ramen." The old man at the counter nodded.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Hinata turned slightly in surprise. She was met by the sight of a blonde-haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks.

"I don't m-mind."

He grinned, and Hinata was suddenly aware of the butterflies in her stomach. "Thanks, hey, grandpa! I want the usual."

Hinata looked down to hide her blush. Oh No… this always happened when she was around guys. Wishing once again she could be more like her sister, Hinata turned away. If she talked to the boy, he'd probably call her weird or laugh. Suddenly the old man turned back to her and set down a steaming bowl of ramen.

"Beef ramen, huh?" The blonde-haired boy leaned over, much to Hinata discomfort, "I sometimes get that too. Ichiraku's ramen is the best in the world!" Hinata nodded shyly and fiddled with her chopsticks.

"I'm Naruto!" Said Naruto grinned again and stuck out his hand.

"I-I'm Hinata." Hinata shyly took his hand in hers, "I-It's nice t-to meet you."

**(x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x)**

_Dear Ino, _

_How are you doing? I recently got a letter from Sakura, she's doing well. My visit's been okay so far. Me grandparents seem okay, I guess, but I keep getting the feeling that they don't like me very much. It might be me though; do you think I'm doing something wrong?_

_Please write to me more. I miss you so much._

_Love,_

_Hinata_

**(x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x)**

Ino smiled to herself, Hinata was such a good person. She knew Hinata's grandparents were treating her horribly, and yet, her friend refused to complain. Sighing, Ino placed the letter on the counter and stared outside. She wondered when this was going to end; it had only been two hours and yet it felt like two days. Groaning dramatically and slumping down in her seat, the blonde was suddenly brought to life by a tinkling sound.

She looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of the boy she had met yesterday.

He briefly met her gaze before looking away, "This is so troublesome…" Ino stifled a small giggle.

"Um, hello, may I help you?" This was probably the most exciting thing that would ever happen to her this summer, so Ino focused her attention completely on the new customer and turned her charms on. Who knew? This might actually go somewhere.

"Uhh, yeah... I need to by some flowers."

Ino smiled amusedly. '_Ah, there's some wit. You're in a flower shop, and why are you there? To buy flowers_!'

"For what occasion?" Ino continued her part, pretending to be casually inspecting her nails.

"I need them for," Shikamaru paused, "my girlfriend."

Oh.

Ino shifted uncomfortably on the stool she was sitting on. Oh. She got it now, he was taken. She smiled bitterly in her head before turning back to her customer. "Sure." Even if she was disappointed right then, she couldn't show him. Instead she continued on strongly.

'_It doesn't matter anyway. I shouldn't be so... I don't even know him_.'

"How about the classic roses? We have red, which is really quite romantic if you ask me."

'_It is a little overused though_.'

He shook his head and approached the counter. "I don't really like roses."

"Why?" Usually men always bought what she told them to, they were almost always universally stupid on the topic of women.

"Everyone buys them; I'd rather get a flower that means something or say something special other than just 'I love you.'" The pineapple-headed male shuffled his feet in a bored fashion. "It really is a drag to shop for women." Ino couldn't help it; a cheerful smiled appeared on her face. Shikamaru merely raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry; it's just, you don't really hear that quite often." He nodded in understanding. "Always, why are you getting her flowers in the first place?"

"Anniversary."

'_It's a long term relationship then_.'

"Alright then, what type of flowers does she like?" They continued on like this, her asking and him answering. Even if Ino knew he was in a current relationship, which sounded quite serious, she couldn't help but appreciate the little things about him. He wasn't just another clueless boyfriend who had forgotten about their anniversary and was now scrambling around for a gift.

By talking to him she also learned bits and pieces about her new customer, like how both his parents were doctors and how he liked certain things more than others. And slowly, very slowly, their conversation shifted from his girlfriend to just him.

When he had to finally leave, Ino concluded that:

1. He was quite lazy

2. He was very… different

3. And, she would never see him again, even though (she grudgingly admitted his) she might want to.

**(x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x)**

_Dear Tenten,_

_How are you enjoying your sports camp? I could never imagine myself at one, and I have no idea how you could possibly have fun by kicking a ball around a field. I guess a good thing would be that the boys are usually well toned…_

_So, on that topic, have you found anyone you might find... cuter than socks?_

_Probably unlikely considering that you are you, but if you do, you better tell me!!!_

_There are no cute guys on my end of the spectrum though, and the beginning of my summer has been pretty much a bust._

_Write to me soon, okay?_

_Your absolutely adorable friend,_

_Ino _

_P.S. Just to remind you, you do have to get a boyfriend by the end of the summer, okay? You cannot back out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

**(x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x)**

"Yo Tenten, come on, our game is starting!"

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Quickly stuffing the letter back into her backpack, Tenten ran over to join her friend and teammate, Roze. "Who are we playing today?"

Roze turned away abruptly, "U-Uh… today we're playing team eight."

Tenten blinked. "Are you… blushing?'

"No!" Roze nervously ran forward. "I'm just going to go up ahead… uhhh… see you!"

'How weird…' Tenten brushed off Roze's strange behavior, it was probably nothing. As the brunette approached the playing fields, she absentmindedly slipped on a jersey. Her team was team number five, and besides Roze, Tenten only new the names of a couple other players. Masumi and Saki were chatting with Roze; they waved as she joined their side.

"I know… he' s like so… cute!" Masumi uttered a high-pitched squeal of delight.

"Who?" Tenten looked around the field. "I don't really see anyone special."

Saki swooned dramatically. "What are you talking about? He's right there!"

Tenten turned to look where Saki was pointing too. "That Hyuuga kid?" That's right, Roze had been talking about him a while ago, hadn't she? Now that she thought about it, she had meant to ask him if he was somehow distantly related to Hinata.

"What do you mean 'that Hyuuga-'" But Masumi was cut off by the sharp sound of a whistle. Their coach gathered them around and gave them the standard pep talk and plan of how they were going to go about winning this game. Tenten listened boredly; their coach's idea wasn't really going to do them any good.

They started their game immediately and ten minutes into it team eight had already scored two goals. '_Dammit… they're good_.' Tenten ginned manically, she loved a challenge. The teams took a small break and Tenten gathered the rest of her team around.

"Ugh, team eight is so good, we're never going to beat those guys…" a couple kids nodded in agreement.

"That's not true! I have a plan." All eyes turned to Tenten.

(---)

As the game continued, the chances of winning for team five seemed to diminish, but Tenten was ready to start the comeback. Just as Kyoko, a member of team eight, was about to score a goal, Tenten intercepted it. Nimbly, she dodged around everyone else and passed to Roze, who was positioned right next to the net.

Roze wasn't a great offense player, but she had a wicked good kick. Not prepared for such a quick turn of events, the goalie wasn't able to catch the ball and it flew by him. Everyone on her side cheered. '_Take that Hyuuga_!'

The game continued on and on, both teams refused to let up and eventually it ended as a tie because they had run out of time. Tenten was a little disappointed she hadn't been able to completely beat the other team, but, hey, they were really good. Taking another giant gulp of her water, Tenten grabbed the soccer ball and started to run forward toward Masumi and Roze.

"Tenten, right?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Tenten tripped on her own foot.

"Oww…" She heard someone chuckle behind her. Tenten turned around to glare at the person.

Wait…

Wasn't that… Hyuuga?

**(x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x)**

_Dear Sakura,_

_Enjoying the big city? I Love it here! The weather is so awesome, by the way, have you heard from Ino? I think she's having a meltdown from the boredom…_

_Anyways, I can't wait to tell you about camp. There's this guy here (not someone I like) that wears green spandex everyday! I swear, he looks so… green. I also met someone who's last name is Hyuuga, I wonder if he's related to Hinata. His name's Neji, so I'll ask her about it. _

_I wish you all the best, as always, and I hope you find a boyfriend so you don't have to suffer the hideous consequences of Ino's punishment. I know I'll never find anyone… _

_Love you!_

_Tenten_

**(x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x)**

**End Chapter.**

**(A/N: Okay, thank you again to the people who gave me names, they came in really handy. Things are starting up! Feel free to ask me anything and reviews are welcome!)**


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